At the Vicarage, Elizabeth, wife of the Right Hon. and Rev. Lord Aston, Vicar of Tardebigg, Worcestershire.

At Cheltenham, the Hon. Catherine Newcomen, daughter of the late Viscountess New

comen.

At Brithwood, Humphry Denholm, Esq, of Brithwood, aged 77.

At Portobello, N.B., Lieut.-Colonel Peat, late of the 25th regiment.

At the Harles, Lancashire, aged 78 years, Sir Joseph Birch, Bart.

At Cheltenham, Major-General Blackwell, late governor of Tobago.

At Rolleston, Staffordshire, Penelope, daughter of Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart. M.P.

On board the steam-boat Quorra, in the river Niger, T. Briggs, Esq., M.D., senior medical officer of the African expedition under Lander.

PROVINCIAL OCCURRENCES

IN THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND, AND IN WALES, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

LONDON.

THE total number of votes now registered in the respective parishes for the City and Liberties of London, in respect of 107. houses, is 8,041.

St. James's Park. The exterior of the new guard-house, facing the old Birdcagewalk, has been finished, and presents a very handsome building, in every particular suitable for the purposes for which it is intended. The whole of the new railing enclosing the handsome avenue leading from Pimlico-gate to Storey's-gate is nearly erected, and the great improvements at that side of St. James's Park do much credit to the taste by which it was directed. At the opposite side, the Green Park, as far as Hyde Park Corner, has a very naked and desolate appearance compared to the adjacent improvements, and will remain, it is said, in its present state, until the Palace is finished, when it will be ornamented with shrubs, which, from the irregularity of the ground, can be planted to great advantage; and, with serpentine gravel walks, this Park may be rendered a place of pleasant rural recreation for the public.

Upon arranging the suicides according to the months in which they occurred during the aggregate of years, Mr. Higgs found that, contrary to the generallyreceived opinion, November was actually the month of all the year in which the least number of suicides took place.

The temperate months comprising the least number, it would appear that extreme heat or cold may affect the constitution, and render persons predisposed to insanity more liable to sudden attacks of that disease.

The Medical Board has announced to the proper departments of Government the disappearance of the cholera from the metropolis since the occurrence of the late high winds. That disease, it is thought, will in future annually appear in a more or less severe degree with the autumnal disorder of a kindred nature, on which account it will henceforth be included in the published list of maladies. It will also be from this time named as Cholera epidemica in the bills of health, of which a new form with that addition is about to be circulated. We understand that the Medical Board will still maintain a mitigated attention to and superintendence of this afflictive disease, that no announcements or measures of precaution may be prevented, which circumstances may render necessary or desirable.

A Circular has been issued from the Horse Guards, abolishing, at the command of the King, the infliction of corporal punishment in the army, except for mutiny,

insubordination, or violence to their officers, drunkenness on duty, selling their accoutrements, or stealing from their comrades.

Suicides in Westminster:-The following statements of the number of suicides which have occurred in Westminster for each year from 1812 to 1831, inclusive, has been drawn up from official documents by Mr. Higgs, the Deputy Coroner, and presents some results of a novel and interesting character. The total number of suicides during that period is 489, and includes eight cases of felo de se-seven men and one woman. The number of men destroying themselves to women is nearly as three to one, as appears from the returns, there being 359 men to only 130 women. In very many cases Mr. Higgs observes the insanity which led to suicide was decidedly brought on by intoxication. The following is the return for each year :

From the Parliamentary returns it appears that the population of Westminster, in 1811, was 160,801; in 1821, 181,444; and in 1831, 202,891.

Leicester-square. This square has been recently greatly improved in the centre. The trees and shrubs which had been much neglected, and appeared like a wilderness, and almost entirely hid from the public view the equestrian statue of Geo. II., have been pruned, and the statue, which was also much neglected, has just been bronzed, and is now seen to great advantage. The walks enclosed by the iron railing have been gravelled and improved.

Compression of Water. -An apparatus is exhibiting in Adelaide-street, London, which, by hydrostatic pressure, compresses water to an extent equal to a fourteenth part of its volume. The force employed is equivalent to a pressure of 30,000 lbs. to the square inch, and is applicable to other liquids. In most of our works on natural philosophy, water is treated as incompressible and not elastic; by this apparatus the opposite of these two propositions is clearly shown.

John Traill, Esq., has been appointed to fill the vacancy at Union-hall, in the room of R. J. Chambers, Esq., now one of the magistrates of Marlborough-street.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

Land Allotments..-The greater part of the land in the parish of Cholesbury, Bucks, has, we are informed, been purchased by a society established in the metropolis, for the purpose of allotting it in small portions to the labouring poor of that distressed district. The situation of the above parish is described as the most destitute that can be imagined, the whole of the land lying waste and uncultivated, the occupiers having abandoned it in consequence of the poor-rates absorbing the whole of the rent and profit; not a cow, a pig, or even a fowl is to be seen. The labourers are said to be entirely dependent on the poor-rates for support, the last being reported last year to have amounted to 32s. in the pound, at a rack-rent. No funds being to be raised on the spot, they were maintained by precarious rates in aid from adjoining parishes. These allotments will, it is expected, restore them to a state of comfort, and render them independent of parish relief.-Monthly Miscellany of the Labourer's Friend Society.

LANCASHIRE.

Locomotive Engines.-The daily performances of the engines on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway testify the perfection which has been there attained in the conveyance of light goods and passengers, the ordinary rate of travelling being from 20 to 30 miles an hour, but they seemed to be excelled by those in the neighbourhood of Glasgow in another very important application of the power of locomotive engines, namely, the transmission of heavy goods, in which so great speed is not of such importance as the diminishing the expense of conveyance by increasing the

quantity conveyed. The other day one of the engines on the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway hauled a train of seventy loaded waggons from Gartgill colliery to the depot at Glasgow, a distance of 8 miles, in one hour and five minutes. The gross weight of the waggons was 2874 tons, and of the engine and tender 14 tons 7 ewt. making a total weight of 301 tons 17 cwt. A great proportion of the distance is quite level. The ordinary resistance on a level line is 9 pounds per ton, so that the engine must have been 'exerting a power of about 2718 pounds. The diameter of the cylinder is 124 inches, the length of stroke 22, and the pressure at 55 pounds per square inch. The train extended over a distance of upwards of 270 yards, and presented to view a grand and interesting spectacle, while it afforded a most wonderful exhibition of locomotive power to those who take an interest in the important national question of the improvement of our internal means of communication.

Lieutenants Denham and Robinson, deputed by the Board of Admiralty to make a survey of the river Mersey, have ascertained the existence of a new half-tide channel, at once affording invaluable and increased facility of navigation in the approach to Liverpool. The advantages of this discovery are these—that a maritime intercourse may be pursued at all hours, and that a channel to seaward is progressively forming, which affords at present twelve feet water at two hours' flood, and seventeen at half-tide; that a ship coming in with an easterly wind can stand up the Crosby channel, approaching from the northward, at as early a period of the tide as the Rock channel affords.

MIDDLESEX.

The Commissioners of the Metropolitan Roads have in agitation a plan by which the narrow and dangerous passage through Brentford, on the great Western Road, will be avoided, by turning it through the gardens at the back of the town. Want of the funds necessary to purchase the property is the only impediment to the immediate execution of this most desirable improvement.

SOMERSET.

Communication between the Bristol and British Channels.-It is contemplated to form a branch from the Bideford and Barnstaple rail-road to Newton-Tracey, and from Exeter to Crediton and Bow, by which the desirable opening from the Bristol Channel to the British Channel may be accomplished, avoiding the long circuitous voyage by the Land's End, and the transit from London by steam-vessels to Exeter, and thence by a rail-road to Barnstaple, will be performed in twenty-four hours. To effect this line, it is suggested that the head and main trunk of the project extend from Bideford to Winkleigh, 18 miles; of the extremities, one branch to Exeter, 15-to Oakhampton and Bridstowe, 16; of the upper parts, a branch to Barnstaple, 6; and any future collateral branches to Ilfracombe or Southmolton, &c. Bideford to Exeter will not exceed 38 miles; Barnstaple to Exeter (by a junction at Newton Tracey, 6 miles) will be 40.

From a Parliamentary paper, recently printed, of the amount of poor-rates levied in England and Wales, in 1832, it appears that in the county of Somerset the total sum levied was 224,4827.; payments thereout for other purposes than the relief of the poor, 29,088/.; sum expended for the relief of the poor, 191,6877. 11s.; total expended, 220,775/. 118. Increase, 8 per cent. Select vestries, 71; assistant overseers, 116; number of persons employed in the repair of roads, 961; amount paid from the poor-rates for such labour in 1832, 33971. 18s.; number of persons employed in other parish work, 428; amount paid from the poor-rates for such work during the year, 16057. 4s.

SUSSEX.

Rail-Road. The first division of the original project, devised some years ago, for establishing rail-roads through Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, is about to be carried into effect, by making the Brighton and Shoreham line in the first instance. This is the most direct route from London to Paris; and, by the prospectus of the proposed company, we see that a carriage may travel from London to Paris in eighteen hours, by the way of Dieppe, it being agreed by the French Government to continue the rail-road from Dieppe to Paris.

The Brighton Athenæum, built of cast-iron, and weighing between four or five hundred tons, fell down on the 29th of August. The crush was tremendous. This building was intended for an horticultural exhibition. The dome was larger than that of St. Peter's at Rome by eight thousand feet; the glazing of it would

have covered two acres. The planting has been commenced some time, and the choicest plants had been collected. The building promised to stand a monument of architectural beauty: its destruction was occasioned by its immense weight of iron at top, which, unsupported by the scaffolding, folded in. Previous to its fall, a crackling noise admonished the workmen of approaching danger, and happily no life was lost.

WARWICKSHIRE.

The shareholders of the Birmingham Bank, at their first annual meeting, divided a profit of 10 per cent., leaving, after this and all expenses, more than 5000. to carry over.

YORKSHIRE.

In 1831 and 1832, the British and Foreign trade of the port of Hull, entered inwards, is thus stated:-1831, British ships, 974, 187, 361 tons; Foreign ships, 725, 73,547 tons; 1832, British ships, 762, 140,788 tons; Foreign ships, 454, 43,481 tons.

SCOTLAND.

The foundation stone of the bridge of seven arches, erecting across the river Clyde, between Glasgow and Lauriestown, has been laid, with masonic honours, by the Hon. James Ewing, LL.D., F.R.S., Lord Provost, in presence of the Magistrates, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, &c.

IRELAND.

The sums paid for stamp duty and advertisement duty by the following Irish newspapers, for the quarter ending the 5th of July, 1833, are thus stated :—

The number of bushels of malt which were made and charged with duty in Ireland, from the 10th of October, 1832, to 5th of April, 1833, was 1,565,300 bushels ; of this quantity 42,736 bushels have been exported and 435,254 used by distillers. The total present annual expenditure of Ireland, including debt, army, pensions, and all disbursements payable out of the public revenue, is 2,910,8087. 3s. 10d. The amount of registered tonnage of the Irish ports in 1832, was 108,128 tons. The Marquis Wellesley has been appointed Viceroy of Ireland, in the room of the Marquis of Anglesey, who retires from ill health, and at the earnest recommendation of his physicians passes the winter in the South of Europe. The party journals in Ireland had anticipated the appointment, with various comments; but his Lordship's former administration (in 1822) of the same office is the standing commentary from which impartial people will be able to judge more correctly than from any speculations. The Marquis was Governor-General of India in 1795, and Ambassador to Spain in 1809. He is now 73 years of age.

Curious Cave.-The facts of the curious cave discovered between Cahir and Mitchelstown, in the county of Tipperary, in May last, are fully corroborated by recent explorers. The entrance is through an aperture not three feet wide, whence there is a descent of about twenty feet, and thence by a ladder to a further depth of fourteen feet. Passing through a narrow cliff, the spectator enters the Grand Hall, which is about one hundred feet across and twenty-one feet high, and of irregular form. This cave, like all the others, is of limestone, apparently supported by several crystallized pillars. There are several other caves of various sizes and dimensions; that called the Long Cave is two hundred yards in length and twenty

feet high; the roof, like Gothic arches, springing from several handsome pillars with broad bases, some of which are thirty feet in circumference, and above these the pillars are about ten feet high and one foot in diameter; they are all through white, shining, and transparent, like the crystal. In another cave is a stone table, covered with mimic drapery like a cloth, and surmounted by three lesser pillars like candlesticks. There are numerous handsome draperies of the same transparent substance through the several caves and passages; and at one place a petrifaction resembling a statue, the legs and drapery of which very closely approach to the labour of the chisel; the people of the neighbourhood call its Lot's Wife, because somewhat resembling a pillar of salt. Some of the caves are small, and entirely covered with the white transparent substance from the droppings from the roof, some of which form pillars and some very beautiful draperies and curtains, drawn up in the centre and flowing down at the sides most gracefully. When struck with a stone these crystallizations sound like bell-metal. At the end of one of the caves is a deep and clear stream of water. The several passages are very crooked and narrow; in many places the visiter is forced to crawl on his hands and feet, and sometimes quite flat on his face. Some of the floors are like crystallized snow, but for the most part they are strong and covered with yellow clay. In some places two or three pillars rise from one base, the effect of which is handsome. There are also several crystallizations like beehives. The floor of the Water Hall resembles a honeycomb, and is about nineteen feet in circumference at the base, forming a sort of irregular cone at the top; the pillars are solid at the bottom, but hollow in the centre. The material of the petrifications is crystallized stalactite of carbonate of lime, and polished both within and without by the attraction of the water. Gothic Gallery is entered through a sort of crystal curtain suspended apparently ou small Doric pillars, which, when touched with a cane, produced sounds like a number of bells of various sizes. This gallery is about twelve feet wide, and resembles the aisle or entrance to an ancient cathedral. The Upper or Garret Cave is about thirty feet square and twenty high, formed like the others, but surrounded with more fanciful drapery. The entrance to the Lower or Cellar Cave is difficult and dangerous; the visiter creeps through a long avenue on all-fours until at the edge of a precipice, when the sound of a rivulet arrests his progress about twenty feet distant; hitherto no person has had sufficient hardihood to explore this Stygian river-whence it flows or where it vanishes. There is another called the Sand Hall, and another Kingsborough Hall, so called after the noble lord of that name, eldest son of Earl Kingston, on whose property it is situated, and who discovered it by breaking through a narrow partition of spar which intercepted his passage. In this hall there are springs, wells, and cataracts in miniature, which run through tubular spars, and at a distance make a very agreeable murmuring noise. The visiter feels no effluvia nor inconvenience, the first caves being apparently well ventilated, and the air perfectly wholesome. The whole is called "Kingston Cave.".

The

[The following are the thirty boroughs to which charters of incorporation are proposed to be given under the Lord Chancellor's Bill:-Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Bury, Chatham, Cheltenham, Devonport, Dudley, Frome, Gateshead, Halifax, Huddersfield, Manchester, Merthyr Tydvil, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Sheffield, South Shields, Stoke-upon-Trent, Stroud, Sunderland, Tynemouth, Wakefield, Warrington, Whitby, Whitehaven, and Wolverhampton.] [The Committee appointed to inquire into the state of agriculture have reported, as their opinion, that "the result of their careful observation is, that, during the last ten years especially, the tenants have become gradually more and more distressed, their live and dead stocks have been reduced lower and lower, their capital has been diminishing, and the land has been so rapidly deteriorating, that soils of inferior description have been taken out of cultivation altogether."]